i386 EOL plans for Ubuntu GNOME?

[Bryan Quigley]

Sorry for the late notice - there is a live discussion scheduled for
this Wednesday on this topic for any flavors that want to further the
discussion.

http://summit.ubuntu.com/uos-16 11/meeting/22714/architecture-discussions/

On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 11:27 AM, Bryan Quigley
<bryan.quigley at canonical.com> wrote:
> Hi Ubuntu GNOME team,
>
> From the thread on Ubuntu-devel/discuss [1] I'm going to start
> conversations with each flavor on what their plans are for i386 in the
> 18.04 timeframe.  I did run a survey but the Ubuntu GNOME [2] results
> aren't enough to base a decision on.
>
> The general ideas are either:
> *Start Dropping i386 for Ubuntu GNOME*
> A. Drop Ubuntu GNOME i386 ISO for 16.10
> B. In addition to A, also block upgrades by dropping packages from
> i386 archive (say GNOME Shell*).
>
> Some Pros:  Halves the test cases you need to go through.   Reduces
> bandwidth usage and makes it more obvious for new users what to
> download.
>
> *Wait until after 18.04 and then reconsider dropping i386*
>
> Pros:  Maintain older hardware running Ubuntu GNOME for another 2+
> years (up from 3 years).
>
> Thoughts?
> Bryan
>
> * You could consider any packages that are 100% specific to the Ubuntu
> GNOME flavor.
>
> [1] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2016-June/039420.html
>
> [2] The total results for Ubuntu GNOME  (18 of the 300 responses).
> The results we're not as clear due to the number of 12.04 respondents
> - 5 (and one with 200 machines).  12.04 is from before both Gnome
> Shell and Unity, so I have no idea where they are going to go.
>
> How long do you expect this machine to last?
> at least 1 year - 3  (one of these running 12.04)
> at least 3 years - 7
> at least 5 years - 3  (2 of these are running 12.04)
> at least 7 years or more - 5  (2 of these are running 12.04)
>
> i386 - To be clear I mean any 32-bit x86 platform (usually AMD/Intel/VIA).